This comes in the wake of the announcement that hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners and activist investment firm Firebrand Partners LLC want to place four new directors on The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT) board. NYTCo won’t announce its full board-nominated slate until later this month but is announcing some board changes this morning that would add strategic and internet experience. Brenda Barnes, chairman of Sara Lee, and James Kilts, a former vice chairman of Procter & Gamble, are leaving the board; they have been on since 1998 and 2005 respectively. The new nominees:

-- Robert Denham, a partner in the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and the former chairman and CEO of investment bank Salomon Inc. He serves on the boards of Chevron, Wesco Financial, Fomento Economico Mexicano, S.A.B. de C.V. and Alcatel-Lucent. Chairman Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.’s pitch: “Bob Denham brings stellar financial and legal experience as well as a broad strategic perspective to our board.”

-- Dawn Lepore, chairman and CEO of drugstore.com, previously was vice chairman—technology, operations and administration, The Charles Schwab Corporation. She’s on the eBay (NSDQ: EBAY) board and was on the Wal-mart board. Sulzberger’s pitch: “Dawn Lepore is highly respected with deep experience in the digital sphere and strong relationships in both Silicon Valley and the Seattle technology community.”

I’m including Sulzberger’s comments because this is not your routine, rubber-stamp announcement. The two NYTCo nominees may well be elected at the April 22 annual meeting—but with Harbinger just raising its stake to nearly 10 percent and working with Firebrand to get its own advisors on the board, it’s certainly shaping up as more interesting than usual. Harbinger and Firebrand contend that the Times needs to expedite digital acquisitions and focus on core assets—and that certain strengths are missing from the board.

• Harbinger Parent Ups Stake In NYTCo To 9.96 Percent; Activists Meet With Management
• Earnings: NYTCO Swings To Profit; Revenue Drops 7 Percent; ‘07 Online Revs Up 22 Percent
• More Details On Hedge Fund’s Efforts To Gain Seats At NYTCo Table, Plans To Increase Stake